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UP Yoddhas head coach Jasveer Singh has opened up on the team's Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction strategy. The Yoddhas retained their star players Surender Gill, Sumit Sangwan, and Ashu Singh before the auction but let go of big names like Pardeep Narwal and Nitesh Kumar.
At the two-day auction, the UP Yoddhas roped in former Bengaluru Bulls star Bharat Hooda along with experienced defenders Sahul Kumar and Mahender Singh to strengthen the squad. The franchise also signed some exciting young talents at the auction.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda after the Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction, UP Yoddhas head coach Jasveer Singh mentioned that he was feeling relaxed as the team managed to rope in most of the names they wanted to get. However, Narwal wasn't one of them.
UP Yoddhas raised many eyebrows when they released the league's most successful raider Pardeep Narwal ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction. When asked about the decision to let go of Pardeep, who even captained the Yoddhas in the last two seasons, Jasveer Singh replied:
"We wanted to use FBM for Pardeep Narwal. However, when we signed Bharat Hooda, our purse value reduced significantly. So, we did not even have enough funds to use FBM for Pardeep," said Singh.
"I am pretty relaxed after the auction. We had prepared some plans for the auction, and we did a decent job. In fact, we got 80 to 90% of the players we planned to sign."
All-rounder Bharat Hooda was the most expensive signing by the UP Yoddhas at this year's auction. The Yoddhas spent ₹1.3 crore to acquire the tall all-rounder's services for the upcoming PKL season.
"We needed another main raider"- Jasveer Singh discloses 2 other raiders whom UP Yoddhas had on their wishlist
Singh further spoke about the strategy behind signing Hooda for ₹1.3 crore. He said that the Yoddhas also had Sachin Tanwar and Guman Singh on their wishlist, but they ultimately signed Bharat as he could form a decent left-right pair with Gill.
"We already have Surender Gill. We needed another main raider, we wanted one out of Guman Singh, Sachin Tanwar and Bharat. So, the reason why we chose Bharat is he is a left raider. Surender is a right raider, now we have a left raider in Bharat. So, we have a good combination," Singh said.
While Bharat finished second on the Raiders' leaderboard in PKL 9, he had an ordinary season with the Bengaluru Bulls in 2023/24: 103 raid points in 19 matches. Singh pointed out that the raider had regained his form in the tournaments after PKL, which is why the Yoddhas spent big for his services.
"Bharat did not perform well in the last PKL season, but after that tournament, he did a great job in nationals and other recent tournaments. Plus, he is fit. So, that's another reason why we went for him," Singh explained.
"Nothing special about it"- Jasveer Singh talks about the strategy behind releasing Nitesh Kumar and Gurdeep Sangwan
For the last few seasons, UP Yoddhas had a stable defensive unit with Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Sangwan, Gurdeep Sangwan, and Ashu Singh. Unlike other franchises, the Yoddhas rarely altered their defense. However, this time, the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise released Nitesh and Gurdeep and did not try to re-sign them.
When asked about the strategy behind letting go of their core defenders, Jasveer Singh replied:
"Nothing special about it. We have a new right corner in Hitesh, a new right cover in Sachin and a new left cover in Gangaram. So, we want to give opportunities to the new players. We wanted to prepare a new team, new defense."
"Yes, some might say there aren't any big names in the defense, but we have Sahul, who is an experienced defender. We also roped in Mahender, who has got a lot of experience. Plus, we retained Sumit and Ashu Singh. The defense is pretty much the same. It is a solid lineup in my opinion."
Jasveer signed off by saying that his UP Yoddhas squad can soon lift the Pro Kabaddi League trophy.
"I have full belief in this team. This team can win the trophy. We have formed the squad accordingly," Singh concluded.
UP Yoddhas have qualified for the playoffs five times in the six seasons. However, they have never made it to the final. It will be interesting to see how the team performs in the 11th edition of PKL.
